Godzilla (2014)

The world is beset by the appearance of monstrous creatures, but one of them may be the only one who can save humanity.

Director:

Gareth Edwards

Writers:

Max Borenstein (screenplay), Dave Callaham (story) (as David Callaham)

Stars:

Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Bryan Cranston

6 wins & 31 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Aaron Taylor-Johnson	...	Ford Brody
CJ Adams	...	Young Ford
Ken Watanabe	...	Dr. Ishiro Serizawa
Bryan Cranston	...	Joe Brody
Elizabeth Olsen	...	Elle Brody
Carson Bolde	...	Sam Brody
Sally Hawkins	...	Vivienne Graham
Juliette Binoche	...	Sandra Brody
David Strathairn	...	Admiral William Stenz
Richard T. Jones	...	Captain Russell Hampton
Victor Rasuk	...	Sergeant Tre Morales
Patrick Sabongui	...	Lieutenant Commander Marcus Waltz
Jared Keeso	...	Jump Master
Luc Roderique	...	Bomb Tracker
James Pizzinato	...	HALO Jumper

Storyline

In 1999, the Janjira nuclear plant was mysteriously destroyed with most hands lost including supervisor Joe Brody's colleague and wife, Sandra. Years later, Joe's son, Ford, a US Navy ordnance disposal officer, must go to Japan to help his estranged father who obsessively searches for the truth of the incident. In doing so, father and son discover the disaster's secret cause on the wreck's very grounds. This enables them to witness the reawakening of a terrible threat to all of Humanity, which is made all the worse with a second secret revival elsewhere. Against this cataclysm, the only hope for the world may be Godzilla, but the challenge for the King of the Monsters will be great even as Humanity struggles to understand the destructive ally they have.

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Plot Keywords:

atomic breath | u.s. navy | radiation | halo parachute jump | professor | 

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Taglines:

The king will rise

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of destruction, mayhem and creature violence

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official Facebook [Brazil]

Country:

USA Japan

Language:

English Japanese

Release Date:

16 May 2014 (USA)

Also Known As:

Nautilus

Filming Locations:

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$160,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$93,205,000, 18 May 2014, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$200,676,069

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$529,076,069

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros., Legendary Entertainment, Disruption Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

123 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Atmos SDDS Datasat Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

King Ghidorah was the antagonist in an early draft of the script, having crashed in the Arctic during the last Ice Age and being kept frozen in the Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Depository (a cover by MONARCH), before escaping and fighting Godzilla in San Francisco. He was removed by Gareth Edwards, who felt that Ghidorah (being extraterrestrial) did not fit the film's "wrath of nature" theme, and to avoid similarities with the popular alien film Transformers (2007). Ghidorah will, however, appear in the sequel.

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Goofs

Honolulu airport does not have a monorail/tram system.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Boyd: Dr. Serizawa? Jerry Boyd. I'm warning you, it's a mess. It's just a total mess. Monarch set me in this morning. Took a look around but I told them we need you.

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Crazy Credits

The opening credits are a montage of Monarch documents and 1950s videos. All text on these documents are blacked out except for the names cast/crew members. The montage ends with a nuclear bomb going off, which causes a white-out in which the film title appears.

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Connections

Referenced in Jurassic World (2015)

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Soundtracks

Ka Huila Wai
Written by Alfred Alohikea
Performed by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole (as Isreal "IZ" Kamakawiwio'ole)
Courtesy of Mountain Apple Company HAWAII / Big Boy Records

User Reviews

Not the best Godzilla movie but still decent

I really like this Godzilla movie. Granted it's not as good as the original 1954 version, Mothra vs Godzilla, the Heisei era flicks, or GMK but it's still good. The effects were amazing with everything conveying a strong sense of scale as all the monsters move slowly like larger than life forces. Also they made Godzilla a nigh- indestructible force of nature with his signature durability and atomic breath. Surprisingly the kaiju have lots of personality expressing moments of joy, love, despair, weariness, and wrath. In fact, I'm willing to look past the dull look of the MUTOs because they act like real animals and show so much emotion.

Yet as much as I enjoy the movie, there is the main downside everyone brings up: Godzilla doesn't show up enough. Granted there are lots of creature features that focus more on the humans like Jurassic Park, Aliens, Predator, and Jaws. However, those movies at least had characters that while neither the deepest or most complex, were at least likable and recognizable.

Here the main human characters are generic and lifeless. Aaron Taylor Johnson's performance as Ford is boring and lacks the stoic intensity of Arnold Schwarzenegger or Clint Eastwood. They could've made Ford have an angry grudge against Godzilla and the MUTOs that would clash with Sherizawa's respect for Godzilla. Ditto Elizabeth Olsen's Elle,she never seemed to show emotionally heartache or depressed concern for her patients or her family. Their bland characters would've had been so annoying had they not overshadowed Bryan Cranston's Joe and Ken Watanabe's Sherizawa.

If the creators are going to make another Godzilla flick, then they should either increase Godzilla's screen time or at the very least bring in better actors and create more memorable characters. That said,it's still a fun movie on its own merits and I'm looking forward to the sequel